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Webster 1913 Edition

Near

Near

(nēr)
,
adv.
[AS.
neár
, compar. of
neáh
nigh. See
Nigh
.]
1.
At a little distance, in place, time, manner, or degree; not remote; nigh.
My wife! my traitress! let her not come
near
me.
Milton.
2.
Nearly; almost; well-nigh.
“Near twenty years ago.”
Shak.
“Near a fortnight ago.”
Addison.
Near
about the yearly value of the land.
Locke.
3.
Closely; intimately.
Shak.
Far and near
,
at a distance and close by; throughout a whole region.
–
To come near to
,
to want but little of; to approximate to.
“Such a sum he found would go near to ruin him.”
Addison.
–
Near the wind
(Naut.)
,
close to the wind; closehauled.

Near

,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Nearer
;
sup
erl.
Nearest
.]
[See
Near
,
adv.
]
1.
Not far distant in time, place, or degree; not remote; close at hand; adjacent; neighboring; nigh.
“As one near death.”
Shak.
He served great Hector, and was ever
near
,
Not with his trumpet only, but his spear.
Dryden.
2.
Closely connected or related.
She is thy father’s
near
kinswoman.
Lev. xviii. 12.
3.
Close to one's interests, affection, etc.; touching, or affecting intimately; intimate; dear;
as, a
near
friend
.
4.
Close to anything followed or imitated; not free, loose, or rambling;
as, a version
near
to the original
.
5.
So as barely to avoid or pass injury or loss; close; narrow{3};
as, a
near
escape; a
near
miss
.
6.
Next to the driver, when he is on foot; in the Unted States, on the left of an animal or a team;
as, the
near
ox; the
near
leg
. See
Off side
, under
Off
,
a
.
7.
Immediate; direct; close; short.
“The nearest way.”
Milton.
8.
Close-fisted; parsimonious.
[Obs. or Low, Eng.]
☞ Near may properly be followed by to before the thing approached; but more frequently to is omitted, and the adjective or the adverb is regarded as a preposition. The same is also true of the word nigh.
Syn. – Nigh; close; adjacent; proximate; contiguous; present; ready; intimate; familiar; dear.

Near

,
p
rep.
Adjacent to; close by; not far from; nigh;
as, the ship sailed
near
the land
. See the Note under
near
,
Adj.

Near

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Neared
;
p. pr. & vb. n
Nearing
.]
[See
Near
,
adv.
]
To approach; to come nearer;
as, the ship
neared
the land
.

Near

,
Verb.
I.
To draw near; to approach.
A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist!
And still it
neared
, and
neared
.
Coleridge.

Webster 1828 Edition

Near

NEAR

,
Adj.
[This seems to be a contracted word, from nigher, the comparative of neh, nih or nieh; strait, narrow; to narrow]
1.
Nigh; not far distant in place, time or degree. Regularly, near should be followed by to, but this is often omitted. We say, a house stands near a river; a friend sits near me; the man fell and was near destruction.
And Jacob went near to Isaac his father. Genesis 27.
Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. Romans 13.
2.
Closely related by blood.
She is thy fathers near kinswoman. Leviticus 18.
3.
Not distant in affection, support or assistance; present; ready; willing to aid.
Call upon the Lord, while he is near. Isaiah 55.
4.
Intimate; united in close ties of affection or confidence; as a near friend.
5.
Dear; affecting ones interest or feelings; as a near concern.
My nearest life.
6.
Close; parsimonious.
7.
Close; not loose, free or rambling; as a version near the original.
8.
Next to one; opposed to off; as the near horse or ox in a team.

Definition 2024

near

near

English

Noun

near ‎(plural nears)

  1. The left side of a horse or of a team of horses pulling a carriage etc.

Synonyms

Antonyms

See also

Adjective

near ‎(comparative nearer, superlative nearest)

  1. Physically close.
    • Dryden
      He served great Hector, and was ever near, / Not with his trumpet only, but his spear.
  2. Closely connected or related.
    • Bible, Leviticus xviii. 12
      She is thy father's near kinswoman.
  3. Close to one's interests, affection, etc.; intimate; dear.
    a near friend
  4. Close to anything followed or imitated; not free, loose, or rambling.
    a version near to the original
  5. So as barely to avoid or pass injury or loss; close; narrow.
    a near escape
  6. (of an event) Approaching.
    The end is near.
  7. Approximate, almost.
    The two words are near synonyms.
  8. (dated) Next to the driver, when he is on foot; (US) on the left of an animal or a team.
    the near ox; the near leg
  9. (obsolete) Immediate; direct; close; short.
    • Milton
      the nearest way
  10. (obsolete, slang) Stingy; parsimonious.

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Adverb

near ‎(comparative nearer, superlative nearest)

  1. Having a small intervening distance with regard to something.
    I'm near-sighted.
  2. (colloquial) nearly
    • 1666 Samuel Pepys Diary and Correspondence (1867)
      ...he hears for certain that the Queen-Mother is about and hath near finished a peace with France....
    • 1825 David Hume, Tobias George Smollett The History of England page 263
      Sir John Friend had very near completed a regiment of horse.
    • 2003 Owen Parry Honor's Kingdom page 365
      Thinking about those pounds and pence, I near forgot my wound.
    • 2004 Jimmy Buffett A Salty Piece of Land page 315, page 35
      "I damn near forgot." He pulled an envelope from his jacket.
    • 2006 Juliet Marillier The Dark Mirror page 377
      The fire was almost dead, the chamber near dark.

Derived terms

Translations

Preposition

near

  1. Close to, in close proximity to.
    There are habitable planets orbiting many of the stars near our Sun.‎
    • 1820, Mary Shelley, Maurice, or The Fisher's Cot:
      He entered the inn, and asking for dinner, unbuckled his wallet, and sat down to rest himself near the door.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 17, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      This time was most dreadful for Lilian. Thrown on her own resources and almost penniless, she maintained herself and paid the rent of a wretched room near the hospital by working as a charwoman, sempstress, anything.
    • 1927, H.P. Lovecraft, The Colour Out of Space:
      It shied, balked, and whinnied, and in the end he could do nothing but drive it into the yard while the men used their own strength to get the heavy wagon near enough the hayloft for convenient pitching.
    • 2013 August 16, John Vidal, “Dams endanger ecology of Himalayas”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 10, page 8:
      Most of the Himalayan rivers have been relatively untouched by dams near their sources. Now the two great Asian powers, India and China, are rushing to harness them as they cut through some of the world's deepest valleys.
  2. Close to in time.
    The voyage was near completion.‎
Usage notes

Joan Maling (1983) shows that near is best analysed as an adjective with which the use of to is optional, rather than a preposition. It has the comparative and the superlative, and it can be followed by enough. The use of to however is usually British.

Antonyms

Translations

Verb

near ‎(third-person singular simple present nears, present participle nearing, simple past and past participle neared)

  1. To come closer to; to approach.
    The ship nears the land.

Translations

See also

References

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: means · thus · order · #285: near · public · others · anything

Anagrams

Latin

Verb

near

  1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of neō

Latvian

Verb

near

  1. 2nd person singular present indicative form of neart
  2. 3rd person singular present indicative form of neart
  3. 3rd person plural present indicative form of neart
  4. 2nd person singular imperative form of neart
  5. (with the particle lai) 3rd person singular imperative form of neart
  6. (with the particle lai) 3rd person plural imperative form of neart

Etymology

From Middle English nere, ner, from Old English nēar ‎(“nearer”, comparative of nēah, "nigh"), influenced by Old Norse nǣr ‎(“near”), both originating from Proto-Germanic *nēhwiz ‎(“nearer”), comparative of the adverb *nēhw ‎(“near”). Cognate with Old Frisian niār ‎(“nearer”), Dutch naar ‎(“to, towards”), Old High German nāhōr ‎(“nearer”), Danish nær ‎(“near, close”), Norwegian nær ‎(“near, close”) Swedish nära ‎(“near, close”). Also see nigh.

Notesː near appears to be derived from (or at the very least influenced by) the North Germanic languages, confer Danish nær ‎(“near, close”), Norwegian nær ‎(“near, close”) Swedish nära ‎(“near, close”), and nigh from the West Germanic ones, confer Dutch na ‎(“close, near”), German nah ‎(“close, near, nearby”), Luxembourgish no ‎(“nearby, near, close”). Both, however, are ultimately derived from the same Proto-Germanic root *nēhw ‎(“near, close”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /nɪə(ɹ)/
  • (US) IPA(key): /nɪɹ/
  • (near–square merger) IPA(key): /nɛə/
  • Rhymes: -ɪə(r)

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